Inflammation and Immunity

Every two minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer and overall cancer incidence rates in Great Britain have increased by more than a third since the mid-1970s, with almost this entire rise occurring before the late 1990s (Cancer Research UK). The role of the immune system in cancer is currently attracting a lot attention. On one hand, the immune system can be suppressed by cancer and treatments used to treat cancer are often also immunosuppressive. On the other hand, the immune system can also fight cancer. Understanding the role the immune system plays in cancer will have a significant impact for the health or of patients with cancer.

One of the unique characteristics of cancer such as ovarian, breast and melanoma is the predominant role of the immune system in cancer prognosis and clinical course of disease. A successful immune response against tumours depends on effective antigen preparing, T lymphocyte activation, and migration of immune cells to target anatomical sites. Tumour infiltrating T lymphocytes cells (TILs) influence disease pathogenesis, and the balance between various T cell subsets can often determine clinical outcome. In this project, we will investigate the role of infection and immunity in cancer to ultimately better understand the mechanisms underlying the disease and also contribute to the improvement and development of immune based therapies.